Firearm Certificate Register

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 22 January (WA 195), whether they still expect the design and development of the central register of persons who have applied for or have been granted a shotgun or firearm certificate on the Police National Computer, as required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997, which came into force on 1 October 1997, to be completed by the end of May 2002 and for all work to be completed in November 2002; and, if not, whether they will set a new timetable for the implementation of this legislative requirement.

Lord Rooker: I understand from the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) that development of the central register has been re-scheduled to take into account the work which was needed to implement the DNA database and other external factors. The transition from development to pilot operation will now start in September. The pilot operation will run from November to February 2003, with roll-out to all forces completing in May 2003. PITO continues to plan the delivery of a number of new applications on the Police National Computer in parallel to make the most effective use of skilled and technical resources. But it is possible that other work needed in relation to other urgent PNC projects on persistent offenders and on sex and violent offenders could have a further impact on these re-planned dates. The full impact cannot yet be assessed but could lead to a further delay of two to four months. maria

TV Investigation into Firearms

The Earl of Shrewsbury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether personnel from Meridian TV and BBC TV Kent were authorised by the Home Secretary to possess and use weapons prohibited by Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 which were lent to them by Kent County Constabulary as part of the production process of a TV investigation into firearms transmitted on 21 March; and, if so, whether they will place a copy of the Home Secretary's authority in the Library of the House.

Lord Rooker: No such authorisation was applied for or granted.

Privy Council Silver

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which Minister or Ministers made the decision that the lots of Privy Council silver withdrawn from auction on 29 October 2001 should not be classified as heritage assets; and why this decision was made; and
	Whether in light of the decision to withdraw the Privy Council silver from auction, the Treasury will re-assess its decision not to classify any of the antique assets it holds as heritage assets; and
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 April (WA 114), whether the Treasury sought expert independent advice before taking the decision that the lots of Privy Council silver should be classified as antiques rather than heritage assets; and, if so, whose advice did they take.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Under guidance drawn up following advice from the independent Financial Reporting Advisory Board, in certain circumstances departments can classify as "heritage" assets items held primarily for their cultural and heritage significance. Such assets need not be capitalised or valued. Examples include Stonehenge and the government art collection.
	The Treasury does not hold any items it believes could be classified as heritage assets within the definitions set out in the Resource Accounting Manual. The appropriate independent verification of this classification decision was provided by external audit of the Treasury's 2000–01 accounts. However, in respect of the proposed auction of the items, as I told your Lordships on 29 October, "It is fair to say that we did not consult as widely as we should have done" (Official Report, col 1175).

Treasury Silver

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 29 April (WA 65), what are the full descriptions and individual valuations for the 16 items of silverware held by the Treasury and valued at £1.2 million.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The items are twelve candlesticks valued at a total of £600,000; a set of three inkstands valued at £450,000; a further inkstand valued at £600; a pair of candle-snuffers valued at £4,000; and a further pair of candle-snuffers and four trays valued at £125,000.

Treasury Silver

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 29 April (WA 66), why, in light of the fact that the sale will be "confined to institutions willing to display the items to the United Kingdom public" (12 February, WA 139), and that "No more detailed criteria as to suitability have yet been applied to the list" (WA 66), the Treasury has sought the help of Bonhams auction house in compiling the list, rather than the Department for Culture, Media and Sport or a museums consultant.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Treasury will continue to discuss with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport decisions relating to the future of these items, as well as seeking Bonhams' professional advice.

Treasury Silver

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 29 April (WA 66), whether the Treasury is proposing a private auction of the Privy Council silver, with Bonhams as its adviser.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 18 March (Official Report, col. WA 123-24).

Tax Returns: Penalty Notices

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the tax year 2000–01, how many penalty notices for late tax returns were issued by the Inland Revenue in error; and what procedures have been put in place (a) to apologise for the inconvenience and distress to taxpayers so affected and (b) to prevent a recurrence in the future.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: First fixed late filing penalty notices for tax returns for 2000–01 were issued on 26 April 2002. No details are held of how many of these were issued in error.
	Penalty notices tell people to telephone their tax office if they have any concerns or queries about the notice. Where a penalty notice has been issued in error, the Inland Revenue will put matters right by cancelling the penalty and apologise to the taxpayer affected. The Inland Revenue works continuously to prevent errors occurring and improve the system. This year it will be working particularly on improving the accuracy of logging returns and the quality of information on its database.

Tax Returns: Penalty Notices

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much money has been received by the Inland Revenue in respect of penalty notices for late tax returns for the 2000–01 tax year issued in error.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: No details are held of the payments made against incorrect penalty notices.

Ministry of Defence Police

Lord MacKenzie of Culkein: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will list: (a) the countries outside the United Kingdom where officers of the Ministry of Defence police are currently serving; (b) the number of Ministry of Defence officers serving in each of these countries; (c) the capacity in which Ministry of Defence officers serve in each of these countries; whether there are any proposals to send Ministry of Defence police officers to any other country; and, if so, where.

Lord Bach: There are currently 68 Ministry of Defence police officers serving in Kosovo, employed in an executive policing role as part of the UK Government's commitment to the United Nations International Civil Policing Mission as part of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo; one MDP officer serving in Bosnia as a United Nations Police Monitor (UK Police Contingent); and two MDP officers are deployed to the Pitcairn Islands at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There are no current plans to deploy MDP officers to any other overseas locations. maria

Intellectual Property Rights

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to make the findings of the committee of intellectual property rights available for public debate when it reports later this year.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The report of the Independent Commission on Intellectual Property Rights will be published in due course by the commission.

Waste Electrical Equipment

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the extra costs which will be incurred by local authorities when the waste electrical equipment directive is implemented.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The draft directive does not directly place costs on local authorities.
	A partial regulatory impact assessment to assess the financial and other impacts of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive on all stakeholders was completed in March 2002. A further assessment will be carried out once the directive has been adopted. Any indirect costs which local authorities might face as a result of the UK's approach to implementation of the directive would be an important factor in agreeing the best legislative framework.

Vehicular Access over Common Land

Lord Hardy of Wath: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they intend to lay draft regulations before Parliament under Section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 relating to vehicular access over common land.

Lord Whitty: Draft regulations have been laid in both Houses, together with a regulatory impact assessment and an analysis of the responses made to the draft regulations circulated in July 2001. The Government's objective has been to strike a fair balance between the owners of common land and those who have for many years driven across the land to get to their homes.
	The major change in the regulations is in relation to the compensation payable. This reflects the Government's view that the compensation payable in respect of older premises, already in existence when it became an offence to drive on common land, should be a relatively small amount. Owners of premises in existence on or above 31 December 1905 will pay 0.25 per cent of the value of the premises. Owners of those built between 1 January 1906 and 30 November 1930 will pay 0.5 per cent. Compensation in respect of all other premises remains at 2 per cent.
	We hope that the regulations will be considered by both Houses before the Summer Recess and will then come into force as soon as possible.

Mineral Levels in Crops

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the light of research published in the April edition of Medicines Now showing that fruit and vegetables grown by traditional organic methods contain much larger quantities of essential minerals than those grown using artificial fertilisers, whether they will conduct further research into mineral loss in crops.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Differences seen in the mineral content of fruits and vegetables will be due to a wide range of factors, including study methodology, variety, growth and storage conditions. The Food Standards Agency advises that available evidence does not support the conclusion that fruit and vegetables grown by organic methods consistently contain larger quantities of essential mineral than those grown using artificial fertilisers. The Government have no plans to commission research into comparative mineral levels in organically and conventionally grown crops.

Emergency Contraception

Baroness Young: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider that the decision by a major supermarket to make the morning-after pill available to girls under 16 encourages them to commit an offence of unlawful sexual intercourse.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There is no evidence that the provision of contraception encourages sexual activity. Emergency contraception is a safe and effective method of preventing unplanned pregnancy and is considered to have the same safety profile for under 16s as for older women. As there is evidence that the method is most effective when the first dose is taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, early uptake is vital. The provision of emergency contraception through National Health Service funded pharmacy schemes, including pharmacies within supermarket chains, is one of the ways in which local areas are seeking to improve access.
	Pharmacists providing emergency contraception to under-16s do so under the established legal framework for all health professionals. This involves assessing the young person's competence to understand the choices they are making and encouraging them to talk to their parents. Pharmacists are trained to ensure that young women are informed about and encouraged to visit local services that provide regular forms of contraception and condoms to protect against sexually transmitted infections.
	The Government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy recognises the importance of helping young people resist peer pressure to have early sex, while seeking to ensure that those who are sexually active have easy access to high quality contraceptive advice, including emergency contraception. Under-16s are at particular risk of unprotected sex. Although over a quarter are sexually active, they are less likely than older teenagers to access services and use contraception.

Emergency Contraception

Baroness Young: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they believe that widespread use of the morning-after pill will reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancy; and, if so, what has led them to that conclusion.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Emergency hormonal contraception is a safe and effective method of preventing pregnancy when a woman has had unprotected sex or when she knows something has gone wrong with her usual method. Regular methods of contraception such as the pill or condoms should be the first choice to protect against unwanted pregnancy, but in emergency situations women should be able to access this product quickly and easily. Evidence from a World Health Organisation trial demonstrated that emergency contraceptive pills prevented 86 per cent of expected pregnancies when treatment was initiated within 72 hours of unprotected sex. However this rose to 95 per cent when the first dose was taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex. We therefore want to ensure the best possible access to emergency contraception for those that need it.
	Increased availability of emergency contraception should be seen in the context of a much wider programme of work we are undertaking to reduce the high number of unwanted pregnancies in this country through the Sexual Health and HIV Strategy and the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. This includes improving access to contraceptive services and the range of contraceptive products that are available.

Abortion and Infertility

Baroness Knight of Collingtree: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many women in Great Britain are unable to have children as a consequence of having an abortion; and whether they will investigate the issue.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists considered this issue in its evidence-based guideline The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (2000) and concluded that published studies strongly suggest that infertility is not a consequence of uncomplicated induced abortion.
	The guideline recommends that abortion care should encompass a strategy for minimising the risk of post-abortion infective morbidity.
	As part of the national strategy for sexual health and HIV, the Department of Health will start rolling out national screening for chlamydia from this summer. If not detected and treated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Young women seeking termination of pregnancy will be one of the target groups for the screening programme. maria

Cancer Treatments

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether £17 million of National Health Service funding has been ring-fenced for the provision of the breast cancer drug Herceptin; and how much National Health Service funding has been ring-fenced in the current fiscal year for the provision of the lymphatic cancer drug MabThera; and
	Whether patients with lymphatic cancer can have access to treatment by the drug MabThera, as urgently called for by the Lymphoma Association; and
	What financial provision has been made in the years 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07 for lymphoma sufferers to receive the drug MabThera on the National Health Service in the following localities: Leicester, Shrewsbury, Cambridge, Ipswich, Sheffield, Swansea, Basingstoke, Cardiff, Northwood (Middlesex), Oxford, Southampton and London.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance on the use of trastuzumab (Herceptin) for the treatment of breast cancer on 15 March 2002 and rituximab (MabThera) for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) on 28 March 2002.
	NICE recommended that trastuzumab (Herceptin) is used in certain circumstances for women with breast cancer and made a limited recommendation on the use of rituximab (MabThera) for lymphoma patients in a specific state of their disease.
	£407 million in 2002–03 and £570 million in 2003–04 is being made available to support implementation of the Cancer Plan, including positive recommendations from NICE on cancer drugs.
	Local services have freedom to decide where National Health Service resources are best spent. However, directions have been issued obliging health authorities and primary care trusts to provide appropriate funding for treatments recommended by NICE. From 1 January this year, the NHS will have three months from the date of publication of each technology appraisal guidance to provide funding so that clinical decisions made by doctors involving NICE recommended treatments or drugs can be funded. maria

Cancer Treatments

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to research findings of the Lymphoma Association that one person an hour is diagnosed with lymphoma in the United Kingdom; and how much funding promised for the National Health Service over the next five years will be spent on research into the causes of lymphoma and the provision of adequate budgets for the treatment of lymphoma patients.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The total government expenditure on research in any given year is not normally allocated in advance to specific diseases. Decisions depend on many variables, including the quality of proposals received. By 2003–04, the Government will be spending an additional £20 million a year on the new National Health Service infrastructure for cancer research. This will mean that more cancer patients, including lymphoma patients, will have access to new and experimental treatments. In April 2001 the Government set up the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in partnership with charities and industry. The NCRI Clinical Studies Group provides advice to the NCRI on clinical research into lymphomas.
	£407 million in 2002–03 and £570 million in 2003–04 is being made available to support implementation of the Cancer Plan. It is for local decision where NHS resources are best spent.

Pesticide Residues in Fruit

Lord Peston: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans the Department of Health has to publish the results of the monitoring programme for pesticide residues in fruit supplied to the National School Fruit Scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The first set of results has been published on the website of the Pesticide Residues Committee and a copy has been placed in the Library. We have been advised by the Food Standards Agency and the Pesticides Safety Directorate that none of the residues found would give rise to concern for consumer health generally and specifically for children's health. Further results will be published at regular intervals.

Museums and Galleries: Public Appointments

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to resurrect their proposals (contained in last Session's Culture and Recreation Bill (HL)) for regulating the trustees of the great national museums.

Baroness Blackstone: Our aim in the Bill was to streamline aspects of the public appointment process.
	We are continuing to look at ways to improve the process of public appointments to museums and galleries and have already streamlined the existing administrative processes.
	We will continue to look for legislative opportunities to achieve further improvements to the process in consultation with the chairmen of the national museums and galleries.

Society Lotteries

Lord Mancroft: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they have decided to restrict the frequency of draws in society lotteries to "no greater than one a day" (paragraph 4.43 of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's report A safe Bet for Success) when such a limit does not exist for the National Lottery, which currently has three draws each Saturday; and
	What information or research data they have which shows that society lotteries with frequent draws encourage players to gamble to excess; and
	What they consider to be "excessive" gambling, in monetary terms, in respect of (i) society lotteries, (ii) amusement-with-prizes and (iii) the National Lottery by individual players and by outlet; and
	In relation to Sir Alan Budd's review (Cm 5207) (a) how many of the 300 submissions raised concerns about the frequency of draws in society lotteries; (b) from where Sir Alan Budd obtained the information contained in paragraphs 28.38 to 28.41 of his Report; (c) what information officials gave to Sir Alan Budd in connection with the frequency of draws in society lotteries; and (d) why officials withheld from Sir Alan Budd the results of society lotteries with frequent draws in the possession of the Home Office demonstrating that no excessive play took place; and
	Whether they have calculated the potential loss to charities if draws in society lotteries are restricted to one a day; and, if not, whether they will now do so.

Baroness Blackstone: The Government's decision that the frequency of on-line draws for society lotteries should be restricted to one a day in any particular premises reflected the conclusions of the Gambling Review Body that without such a limit there would be opportunities for uncontrolled and excessive play carrying risks encouraging problem gambling.
	The available research evidence is as set out in Chapter 17 of the review body's report. It is not specific to lotteries but relates generally to frequency of play and opportunities for re-staking.
	Excessive gambling is not necessarily simply a question of the money which the gambler spends or even of the relationship of such expenditure to the gambler's income. It is a matter also of the gamblers' ability to control his or her gambling.
	Four submissions last autumn to the Government about the report of the Gambling Review Body expressed concern about frequent draw lotteries. The review body was independent of government. The sources of evidence given to it were listed in its report. The Home Office did not give evidence about lotteries or other subjects. The only information about the results of society lotteries with frequent draws which was available to the Home Office was supplied by Interlotto. This information related to ticket sales and not to the extent of play by individual participants. It was open to Interlotto to provide this, or such other material as it wished, to the review body in response to the review body's general invitation to submit evidence.
	We have made no estimate of the potential loss to charities from controlling the frequency of online lottery draws and do not think that this would serve a useful purpose. The Government have made clear in A safe bet for success that we are committed to the success of the charity lottery sector and we shall be introducing legislation very shortly to increase their maximum ticket sales, prizes and ticket prices.

Special Advisers

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the pay bands for special advisers, indicating the minimum and maximum pay levels in each band, from the date of their introduction in 1998–99 and for the full financial years (a) 1999–2000; (b) 2000–01; and (c) 2001–02.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The minima and maxima of special advisers' pay bands are as follows:
	
		
			 Year Pay Band Minima Maxima 
			   1998–99 A £26,000 £45,000 
			  B £40,000 £60,000 
			  C £54,000 £76,056 
			  
			 (a) 1999–2000 A £26,728 £46,260 
			  B £41,120 £61,680 
			  C £55,512 £78,186 
			  
			 (b) 2000–01 A £27,503 £47,602 
			  B £42,312 £63,469 
			  C £57,122 £80,453 
			  
			 (c) 2001–02 A £28,328 £49,030 
			  B £43,581 £65,373 
			  C £58,836 £82,867 
			  
			 From June 2001* 0  Up to £34,000 
			  1 £34,001 £44,000 
			  2 £44,001 £56,000 
			  3 £56,001 £72,000 
			  3 Premium £72,001 £87,000 
			  4 £75,001 £90,000 
			  Maximum £125,000  
		
	
	*A new pay system for special advisers was introduced from June 2001 based on individual job evaluation.

Special Advisers

The Earl of Northesk: asked her Majesty's Government:
	Whether special advisers are paid (a) overtime, or (b) bonus payments; and what was the amount of such payments in (i) 1998–99; (ii) 1999–2000; (iii) 2000–01; and (iv) 2001–02.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Section 4d of the Model Contract for Special Advisers makes it clear that special advisers are not entitled to overtime. Under the terms of the Civil Service Management Code the payment of bonuses is delegated to individual departments. Information on bonuses paid to civil servants, including special advisers, is not held centrally.

Special Advisers

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which special advisers were outside the pay band structure in (a) 1999–2000; (b) 2000–01; and (c) 2001–02.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: On 1 April 1999, 1 April 2000 and 1 April 2001 there were three special advisers outside the pay band structure. They were Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Powell and Keith Hellawell.

Northern Ireland Constituencies

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the size of the electorate in each of the 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland; and what it was in each of these constituencies five years ago.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The size of the electorate in each of the 18 constituencies in Northern Ireland as published in the respective Register of Electors for the years 2001 and 1996 are as follows:
	
		
			 2001 Constituency 1996 
			 59,044 Belfast East 62,278 
			 61,646 Belfast North 65,193 
			 59,937 Belfast South 63,948 
			 60,377 Belfast West 62,523 
			 61,597 East Antrim 59,591 
			 60,968 East Londonderry 59,625 
			 67,561 Fermanagh & S Tyrone 65,547 
			 71,835 Foyle 68,574 
			 73,494 Lagan Valley 72,025 
			 62,165 Mid-Ulster 59,814 
			 73,369 Newry & Armagh 71,685 
			 75,385 North Antrim 73,354 
			 63,944 North Down 63,723 
			 72,948 Strangford 70,288 
			 71,316 South Antrim 70,931 
			 74,555 South Down 70,742 
			 73,471 Upper Bann 71,293 
			 61,486 West Tyrone 59,064 
			   
			 1,205,097 Total 1,190,198